Onozie, I. I.
Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Administration and Management, Rivers
State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Email: minaonozie@gmail.com
Oparanma, A. O.
Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Administration and Management, Rivers
State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
and
Lebura, S.
Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Administration and Management, Rivers
State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
This study examined the relationship between empowering leadership and employee resourcefulness in public universities in Rivers State, Nigeria. Empowering leadership was conceptualized as a unidimensional construct while employee resourcefulness being the criterion variable was conceptualized using three measures such as affective, intellectual and
behavioural resourcefulness. Relevant literatures were reviewed from the study. This study anchored on two theories which are social exchange theory and the social capital theory. This study employed a cross-sectional survey research design. The population of the study was six thousand three hundred and forty-eight (6348) academic staff from the public universities in Rivers State with a sample size of 378 determined by using Taro Yemene to determine it. The data were gathered by a quantitative research method through a Structured questionnaire.
Inferential statistics using Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistical tools was used to analyze the data with the aid of SPSS. The study found that empowering leadership significantly influences employee resourcefulness in public universities in Rivers State, Nigeria. Specifically, employees who experienced empowering leadership exhibited higher emotional resilience, intellectual adaptability, and proactive workplace behavior. The study
concludes that empowering leadership is a critical driver of employee resourcefulness, as it fosters a psychologically safe environment where staff feel confident to take initiative, solve problems and support their colleagues. Based on these findings, the study recommends that university management should (1) adopt participative leadership approaches to enhance emotional engagement, (2) promote intellectual autonomy by encouraging innovation and knowledge-sharing, and (3) cultivate a supportive work environment that encourages risktaking and self-leadership without fear of punitive consequences.
Keywords: Empowering leadership, affective resourcefulness, intellectual resourcefulness, behavioural resourcefulness, employee resourcefulness.